TidBITS#128/15-Jun-92
=====================
This is an issue of the small and the large. First come short
notes about Super Boomerang, pop-up menus, and three of the most
popular word processors, Word, Nisus, and WriteNow. Then comes
the meat of the issue with a preview article on FileMaker Pro
2.0 for the Mac and Windows, some in-depth analysis of Apple's
Newton announcements, and a look at works programs by Matthew
Wall that leads into a special issue on ClarisWorks later this
week.
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Topics:
MailBITS/15-Jun-92
Menu Usage
Word Processing Notes
FileMaker Pro 2.0
Apple Newtons II
The Works Concept
Reviews/15-Jun-92
[Archived as /info-mac/digest/tb/tidbits-128.etx; 29K]
MailBITS/15-Jun-92
------------------
Early apologies if you see this a little late - we've been married
exactly one year now and the champagne might get in the way of
uploading this issue everywhere. Time flies when you're having
fun.
QuicKeys ElectroOops
I completely forgot to mention in TidBITS#127 what CE Software
included in the QuicKeys upgrade, and I can't expect everyone to
remember TidBITS#123, which talked about what would be in the
upgrade. My apologies! It's too late for the upgrade now, but
still, sorry about that.
Super Boomerang Tip
Alberto Ricci writes, "Wow - here is an incredibly useful feature
that Hiroaki Yamamoto put in Super Boomerang. If you are using any
application, and you have the Open or Save standard file dialog in
front, and you've got Super Boomerang installed, clicking on a
window that belongs to the Finder (one of the windows in the
background - just click a part of it if it's partially covered by
other windows) will bring you to that level of the hierarchy in
the standard file dialog. Click, click, click, and you'll be
jumping from one place to another of your mounted volumes."
Information from:
Alberto Ricci -- FRICCI@polito.it
New Apple Campaign
We've heard from the estimable Pythaeus that Apple has begun a
completely new advertising campaign that may address some of the
complaints Mac users have had with Apple's advertising. The new
campaign will go head-to-head with Windows, much like Sculley's
presentation at Macworld SF when he had an assistant try to make a
PC-clone into a multimedia machine. Some ads might run a bit like
this...
All I really wanted to do was simplify my job. So I bought
Windows. I added extra RAM. I replaced my video card and
monitor. I installed a mouse. I bought a half-dozen new
programs, configured the system, set the DIP switches on the
printer, and as I sit here watching my spreadsheet crawl on
my PC, I'm thinking to myself "THIS IS MAKING IT EASIER?"
Menu Usage
----------
by Fred Condo -- CONDOF@CGSVAX.CLAREMONT.EDU
In Howard Hansen's EXCELlent review of Excel 4 in TidBITS#127, he
makes the following comment about the pop-up menus feature:
>When you hold down the command and option keys and click the
>mouse, Excel brings up a pop-up shortcut menu right next to
>your mouse pointer. Select a range of cells, command-option
>click, and Excel allows you to instantly cut, copy, paste,
>clear, delete, or insert, as well as change number, alignment,
>font, border, or patterns formatting. This saves the trouble
>of mousing all the way up to the menu bar, finding the right
>option and choosing it. (I find our ever-increasing computer
>laziness quite wonderful!)
Unfortunately, pop-up menus are inherently more difficult and
slower to use than are pull-down menus. This is due to Fitts's
(1954) Law, which governs hand and arm movements. The application
of Fitts's Law is discussed by former Apple interface guru Bruce
Tognazzini (1990, May) and by Walker, et al. (in press). Fitts's
Law essentially states that more precise manual motions must
proceed more slowly than coarse movements.
The reason for this is that you can mouse off the top edge of a
pop-up menu, but you cannot mouse off the top of the menu bar.
This "impermeability," as Walker, et al. call it, makes the menu
bar essentially an infinitely tall target. The user can therefore
program a very coarse, quick movement for the mouse hand to access
the menu bar.
One heuristic that might improve pop-up menus is to cause the most
recently used command to be the one that comes up under the mouse
pointer. However, unless Excel 4's menu structure is so complex
that it requires a great deal of cogitation to recall the
locations of the common commands that pop up, the drawbacks of
pop-up menus will very likely overwhelm the benefits. Moreover, by
the time a user of Mac Excel 4 remembers to and does press the
command and option keys, she or he could likely have moused up to
the menu bar and chosen the appropriate command.
Now, it is altogether possible that the pop-up menus in Excel 4 do
make it quicker and easier to use, but it is not for the reason
Mr. Hansen proposes.
References:
Fitts, P. M. (1954). The information capacity of the human motor
system in controlling amplitude of movement. Journal of
Experimental Psychology, 47, 381-391.
Tognazzini, B. (1990, May). Pull down menus win hands down.
Appledirect, pp. 25-27.
Walker, N., Smelcer, J. B., & Nilsen, E. (in press). Optimizing
speed and accuracy of menu selection. International Journal of
Man-Machine Studies.
Word Processing Notes
---------------------
Much has happened recently in the word processing world, so much
in fact, that it's starting to become hard to track. For those of
you who haven't been watching as closely as we have (we're word
processor junkies, and word processing is probably the most common
task for which people use computers), here's the news, labeled for
your convenience by weasels (apologies to Dave Barry).
New PIMs for Word
Very good news: Word 5.0's modularity has started to pay off, and
Microsoft has made new Grammar and Spelling plug-in modules (PIMs
- and you thought PIM stood for personal information manager). The
grammar checker had a nasty habit of crashing when running under
System 7 on a 68000-based Mac, and the Spelling PIM slowed to an
incredible crawl if you added more than a few hundred words to a
custom dictionary. Both of those bugs are now fixed, and the
Spelling PIM has been generally improved. You can get the new PIMs
by calling Microsoft tech support at the number below and being
nice. Or, if you wait a few weeks, Microsoft may make the PIMs
available on the online services.
Microsoft Tech Support -- 206/635-7200
Microsoft Customer Service -- 800/426-9400
Information from:
Laurel Lammers, Microsoft Corporation
WordBASIC cancelled
Bad news: All is not completely happy in Microsoft-land, and
Microsoft recently announced that they will not ship the WordBASIC
plug-in module for Word 5.0. Period. MacWEEK quoted Microsoft Word
product manager Leslie Koch as saying that WordBASIC will have to
wait until the introduction of Word 6.0 in mid-1993. This means
that all of you who had hoped to automate tasks within Word 5.0
will have to rely on QuicKeys or nothing at all. The Word 6.0
release will reportedly share most of its code with the Windows
version of Word, much as Excel on the Mac and Windows share 80% of
the core code. This means that the Mac version will be completely
rewritten, which will hopefully take care of some of the lingering
problems with figure, footnote, and table numbering discussed on
the nets recently.
Information from:
Michael A. McGuire -- mcguire@utkvx.utk.edu
Related articles:
MacWEEK -- 08-Jun-92, Vol. 6, #22, pg. 4
WriteNow 3.0 ships
Good news: T/Maker has shipped version 3.0 of their small, fast
word processor, WriteNow. We haven't had much time to seriously
evaluate it yet, but a review is on its way. In short, WriteNow
3.0 is small (287K program size, and although it prefers 490K of
RAM, it can use as little as 325K), fast, and has a really snazzy
implementation of styles, including both character and paragraph
styles, a domain previously inhabited only by Nisus among
Macintosh word processors.
T/Maker -- 415/962-0195
Paragon Concepts changes name
Marketing news: As far as we can tell, this has nothing to do with
their products, but Paragon Concepts, makers of Nisus, Nisus
Compact, QUED/M, and several other products, recently changed its
name to match its flagship product, much as SSI renamed itself to
WordPerfect Corporation some years ago. From now on, Paragon will
be known as Nisus Software. Making a clean sweep, the company has
moved to 107 S. Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, CA 92075.
Nisus Software -- 619/481-1477
Nisus XS slips
Bad news: Jim Bates of Nisus Software Tech Support reported on
CompuServe that Nisus XS, the module to provide System 7-savvy
features to Nisus, has been postponed again. Jim says that Nisus
Software anticipates releasing Nisus XS at the end of the year.
Orders are no longer being taken for XS, but if Nisus Software is
standing behind loyal customers who have already ordered the
update. If you ordered Nisus XS before 09-Jun-92, you will receive
the update for free when it does ship, and your credit card will
not be charged. If you have already paid for Nisus XS or had your
credit card charged because the Nisus XS purchase was combined
with another product, your money will be refunded and you will
receive XS for free when it ships.
I must say that I am extremely disappointed to hear that the
release date has slipped again, but I hope that Nisus Software
uses the extra time to come up with a truly amazing product. As
powerful as it is, Nisus has perhaps even more potential than
power, and for those of you who still wonder how it compares to
Word, keep an eye out for a _short_ comparison from Matt Neuburg,
author of our definitive Nisus review in TidBITS#116-#118.
Information from:
Jim Bates, Nisus Software -- 75300.1243@compuserve.come
FileMaker Pro 2.0
-----------------
Claris has given notice that it intends to pull no punches in the
Windows market. At PC Expo in a few weeks, Claris will show a
pre-release version of FileMaker Pro 2.0 for Windows, along with
its almost identical twin for the Mac. The marketing elves have
been working long and hard on this release, and the press
materials are extensive and useful, hopefully foreshadowing the
program itself. Claris's emphasis on the Windows version of
FileMaker Pro 2.0 is especially interesting given Apple's
forthcoming ad campaign against Windows - perhaps this shows that
Claris is not completely under Apple's control.
But enough of the marketing nonsense - you want to read about the
programs. Perhaps the most interesting thing is that the two
versions of FileMaker Pro are almost identical, sharing 85% of the
core code,. If you've used FileMaker Pro on a Mac, you'll be able
to use it under Windows, and you'll even be able to transfer files
directly, without any sort of conversion. From the promotional
pictures that Claris distributed, the two versions can create
databases which even look almost identical save for the Windows-
specific interface elements like the ugly underlining of the Alt
key character and the short filename in the title bar. One of
FileMaker Pro 2.0's main selling points on the Windows side is the
interface since Claris is known for producing well thought-out
interfaces that bring the power of the programs to the surface.
Other useful features that may not be common in Windows databases
include ScriptMaker, which allows you to create scripts by
selecting items from menus and clicking on buttons, extensive
graphic tools for designing layouts, sophisticated text handling
that makes FileMaker Pro into an excellent platform for database
publishing, and instant updating of multi-user databases, even
over mixed platform networks. There's also automatic record
locking and release for ensuring data integrity, and FileMaker Pro
2.0 still has its multi-user file server technology, so you don't
have to have a file server to take advantage of the network
capabilities.
This isn't to imply that the versions are entirely equal. The
Windows version uses Dynamic Link Libraries to support Novell
NetWare and PhoneNet Talk networks, and it supports TrueType,
Bitstream Facelift, and Adobe Type Manager fonts. Windows-based
help is included, and for those of you with extra PC sound
hardware, you can even add sound to your databases. QuickTime is
still limited to the Mac version, although that will change when
Apple ships QuickTime for Windows. The Mac version also supports
Apple Events in scripting, so FileMaker Pro 2.0 can talk to other
Apple Event-aware programs like HyperCard, Resolve, QuicKeys, and
Frontier. Claris included other System 7 features, so much so that
Claris claims it is "System 7 omniscient," including support for
the Data Access Manager, Balloon Help, and TrueType, along with
the Apple Event support mentioned above. Finally, you will be able
to reorder layouts, reserialize records, and use wildcards in
searches, and for those of you who do database publishing,
FileMaker Pro 2.0 has more complete style control for text.
Without having seen a pre-release copy of the program, it
certainly sounds like Claris has a winner with the dual-platform
FileMaker Pro 2.0. We'll only know in the fall when it ships ($399
list, $89 upgrades for existing owners). Interestingly, the press
information also implies that Claris wants to release another
Windows product soon, and high on the list is MacDraw Pro,
although my sources have said that ClarisWorks might be even more
likely.
Claris -- 408/727-8227 -- 800/544-8554
Information from:
Claris propaganda
Apple Newtons II
----------------
Last week I talked briefly about what the Newton technology
entails, setting myself up for this week's analysis. If you
haven't seen last week's issue, I recommend you take a look.
Underneath all of Apple's hurrah over Newton being a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA), I see Apple attempting a paradigm shift.
This paradigm shift may not be in the way people use computers but
in the way people think about computers. It may not equal being
clunked on the head by an errant fruit, but it's still important.
And, to quote Foghorn Leghorn, that famous cartoon chicken, "Clunk
enough people on the head and we'll have a nation of lunkheads."
Hmmm...
Newton fits into Apple's class of Personal Digital Assistants, but
most, if not all, of the technologies in Newton make up most, if
not all, of what you would need for a full operating system.
Apple's marketing folks may not want this to get out, but a Newton
device is a computer that can do computer-like tasks given
appropriate software. The question is, then, why has Apple
sidestepped the terminology?
The term "computer" comes loaded with linguistic baggage linking
it with numbers. After all, the first computers were machines that
merely did basic math quickly. Computers have changed, and despite
the ubiquitous spreadsheet, the vast majority of the time you use
a computer you do not directly work with numbers. When you move
the mouse, type on the keyboard, or look at a graphical display on
the screen, you are not directly manipulating numbers, and in
fact, one of the reasons for the Mac's popularity is that it
removes even more of the explicit numerology from using the
computer. You can drop into EDLIN under DOS and play with
hexadecimal, but a Mac in its default mode will try its hardest to
avoid spewing indecipherable numbers at you.
Despite this move away from numbers, the Mac is a computer, and no
one pretends otherwise. Here's the trick. Apple wants all the
people who have avoided a computer in the past to buy a Newton
device, because the Newton is _not_ a computer. It's a Personal
Digital Assistant, and the fact that it doesn't do everything
(which is often expected of computers) is fine - you wouldn't
expect a human assistant to do everything for you either, although
that person might help out a great deal in keeping track of your
addresses, your schedule, and so on.
I've heard that one way to visualize how Apple intends the PDAs to
complement today's computers is via a time-based graph. Along the
Y-axis is the ability to perform a task well, while the X-axis is
a time line for a project from start to finish. Computers,
including the Mac, generally start out low at the beginning of a
project and become more useful as the task progresses. It's not
your imagination - it is hard to get started with brainstorming
and conceptualization on a computer. That's where the PDAs come
in. They start off high at the beginning of the project, and move
down since their capabilities after the initial conceptualization
are limited. Presumably, when the lines on the graph cross, it
would be a good time to move work from the PDA to a computer,
where it will be easier to solve the now-established problems. The
power of Newton devices will certainly increase as time goes on,
but with the addition of Newton technology in our Macs, the
utility of computers at the beginning of projects will also
increase.
Of course, this graph applies primarily to the so-called "early
adopters" who will buy something at almost any price because they
know they need it, and that set of people largely overlaps with
the set of current Mac owners. Hence the additional emphasis on
wireless communications and all that, which is in reality just
magic that many people won't care about, assuming, again, that the
primary audience will be non-computer users who will get started
on Newton and then may even decide to try a computer.
Looking at that set of non-computer users, Apple's bean counters
started drooling. There are millions of personal computers in use
right now, but there are many times more people who have never
touched one, and probably will avoid it as long as possible. I'm
sure you all know people who have less than no interest in and may
even be hostile toward computers. And then there are people who
might like computers and may even be using them, but for whom the
generalized power of the average computer just isn't quite right.
This is why I've talked a lot about a Newton "device" - Apple
intends to create many different types of Newtons for different
specific ("vertical" in the jargon) markets. One example is a
Newton for architects that would have a large screen that the
architect could sketch on while talking to clients, the Newton
cleaning up the sketch all along and saving it for further
embellishment in a CAD program. Another example involves building
Newton technology into student desktops so that the students can
all communicate with one another and the teacher, who would have a
desktop and a blackboard-sized display on the wall. No more dusty
hands and spine-shivering chalk squeaks, but just think of the
note-passing abilities! Actually, the realities of the school
environment (little money and hard use) would seriously limit the
efficacy of such a Newton, but it's still a neat idea.
I think there are several other rationales behind not calling the
Newton devices computers. Despite Apple's acknowledged better
graphical interface and well-thought out hardware, the majority of
computer users (PC-compatible users) see Apple and the Macintosh
as small fry, and quite frankly, many of them are so biased that
they refuse to even try a Mac because "I'm just not a mouse person
and it's not a real machine." There's no way Apple could sell a
little pen-based computer to those people - they can't get past
their mental blocks about Apple's computers. But a cute little
Newton device that talks to their PC as well as it talks to
Macs... that's another story.
Also, by positioning themselves outside of traditional computer
market, Apple escapes the otherwise-inevitable comparisons with
GO, IBM, Microsoft, Compaq, etc., and moves into an arena with
Sharp, Casio, and Sony. I don't wish to imply that these companies
are easy competition, but just think of Apple's two main
advantages. First, although Newton is not a computer, Apple is a
more obvious computer company, so despite the contradiction, that
fact makes Apple appear stronger in comparison. Second, Sharp has
licensed the Newton technology, and Sony and other selected
companies will soon follow. These licensing deals, prominently
mentioned, put Apple at the top of the heap before they've even
introduced a product because it says that this Newton stuff is so
cool that only Apple could have created it and everyone else has
to license it from Apple. Of course, all this is moot for the time
being, and we have to wait until the Newton devices show up in
stores before making any final judgements. Nonetheless, I think
Apple has done some intelligent positioning that just might pay
off big.
Information from:
Pythaeus
Jeremy Norberg -- tlk@u.washington.edu
The Works Concept
-----------------
by Matthew Wall -- wall@cc.swarthmore.edu
[This is an introduction to Matthew's full review of ClarisWorks,
which will be a special issue immediately following this weekly
issue. Keep an eye out for it! -Adam]
The _works_ program - a single application combining several
functions - has long been a strange and orphaned beast. The idea
of a program which seamlessly (and at low-cost) integrates a
variety of types of data is an appealing one. If perfectly
executed, the works concept would be the perfect implementation of
the basic Macintosh philosophy: the computer interface should be
an easy-to-use and intuitive tool that builds on consistency to
make the work process simpler.
The basic concept is not unique to the Macintosh or even to
microcomputers. The lack of easy integration of both data and
tools - standards is another word - might be considered the
fundamental problem of computing technology since its inception.
Differing file formats and types of data have been a consistent
bugaboo for end users, as have the frustrations of learning
different tools and interfaces for performing the same tasks
across different applications. One need only look at the otherwise
inexplicable continuing popularity of DEC's All-in-One or any set
of Microsoft products as evidence that any solution promising
integration is preferable to none in some environments. In fact,
one of the most popular programs in history was AppleWorks on the
Apple II, which some estimate to have sold over four million
copies since 1984.
The works concept is entering its third era on the Macintosh. The
first era was completely defined by Microsoft Works, the first,
and until recently, the only integrated product. Considering the
paucity of Mac products on the market at the time, Microsoft Works
came as a great revelation. In the pre-MultiFinder days, people
wishing to work on word processing and a spreadsheet at the same
time could use Works. Works quickly grabbed a huge market share,
to the point where even in 1992 Macworld lists Works as the number
four bestselling Mac application (behind Word, Microsoft Office,
and Excel) [according to Macworld Jan-92 p. 286. Interestingly
enough, Works fell to sixth in May and eleventh in July.]. But in
typical fashion, Microsoft sat on its big fat market share and on
further Works development for five years. A set of tools once
revolutionary now seem childishly simplistic. Only the inherent
inertia and resistance to change among the typical computer user
has kept Microsoft Works alive at all.
MultiFinder ushered in the second era of works on the Mac. With
the maturation of MultiFinder in System 6 and the coinciding drop
in memory prices, buying more than one application and running
them simultaneously became practical. Users had access to a wider
variety of choices for individual "modules" under MultiFinder, and
software publishers began to allow formatted exports and imports
to file formats of their competitors. (In my opinion, APDA's push
of XTND and easy file exchange is the single most important
development for Mac applications in the era between MultiFinder
and System 7.) Microsoft Works became far less attractive to
people needing a full featured spreadsheet or word processor but
having little or no need for one of the other modules.
We're now in the midst of a works renaissance of sorts, with the
release of three new works programs - ClarisWorks, BeagleWorks,
and GreatWorks, and the announcement of the development of
Microsoft Works II. I'm not sure how four companies suddenly
decided that the time was ripe to develop new generations of works
programs, but I suggest some possible reasons:
1. There's no real reason for a Works program, but software
developers couldn't ignore Microsoft's continuing profits from
Microsoft Works.
2. With the migration of major word processing, spreadsheet, and
database programs to high-memory, large disk-space, and zippy-
processor Macintoshes (cf. Word 5.0, Excel 4.0, FileMaker Pro, et
al.) a new market has emerged for the still-lively installed base
of low-end Macs.
3. The introduction of the already immensely popular PowerBook
line has created a new need for a low-memory, small disk-space
"notetaking" integrated application.
4. The idea of integrating data and tools under one application is
basically a good one and is receiving new life on its own merit.
The commercial motivations for developing the new works products
are probably some combination of the above factors, and your
reason for buying a works program likely corresponds closely to
one of the following:
1. You've been using Microsoft Works and are dying for something
better.
2. You need to keep up with how the high-end users use the Mac,
but you're stuck with a low-end computer.
3. You have a PowerBook and need to run more application types
than you have disk space or memory.
4. You like the idea of a single, low-cost, easy-to-use
application and you don't need most of the fancy features of
high-end programs.
The Future of Integration
The constraints of the works concept in its current incarnation -
low cost, low memory requirements, and low disk space requirements
- demand that the individual modules of a works program represent
"low-end" applications. This shouldn't necessarily be so, but most
developers seem to be relying on System 7's Publish & Subscribe
and Apple Events technologies as the future of application
integration. Indeed, the Communications Toolbox is an early model
of the operating system providing a mix-and-match supporting
framework for users supplying their own customized tools. The
future of application software will probably be modular, much as
the future of programming itself is object-oriented. In the
meantime, the new generation of works program deserves some
consideration if you find yourself in one of the situations
described above.
Reviews/15-Jun-92
-----------------
* MacWEEK
Color Flatbed Scanners -- pg. 64
DPI Art-Getter
HP ScanJet IIc
HSD Scan-X Color
Microtek ScanMaker 600ZS
Mirror 600 Color Scanner
Mustek MFS-6000CS
Sharp JX-320
UMAX UC630
UMAX UC1200
XRS 6c OmniMedia
FourMat Learning Processor 2.0 -- pg. 74
ExpertWriter 1.0 -- pg. 74
QuickLetter 2.0 -- pg. 74
References:
MacWEEK -- 08-Jun-92, Vol. 6, #22
..
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